Vector: A physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction
Scalar: A physical quantity that has magnitude only
Resultant vector: A single vector which has the same effect as the original vectors acting together
Distance: Length of path travelled
Displacement: A change in position
Speed: Rate of change of distance
Velocity: Rate of change of position (or displacement)
Acceleration: Rate of change of velocity
Weight (Fg): The gravitational force the Earth exerts on any object on or near its surface
Normal force (FN): The perpendicular force exerted by a surface on an object in contact with it
Frictional force due to a surface (Ff): The force that opposes the motion of an object and acts parallel to the
surface with which the object is in contact
Newton's First Law of Motion: An object continues in a state of rest or uniform (moving with constant) velocity
unless acted upon by a net or resultant force
Inertia: The property of an object that causes it to resist a change in its state of rest or uniform motion
Newton's Second Law of Motion: When a net force, Fnet, is applied to an object of mass, m, it accelerates in the
direction of the net force. The acceleration, a, is directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to
the mass
Newton's Third Law of Motion: When object A exerts a force on object B, object B simultaneously exerts an
oppositely directed force of equal magnitude on object A
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: Every particle with mass in the universe attracts every other particle with
a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between their centres
Gravitational field: The force acting per unit mass
Momentum: The product of the mass and velocity of the object
Newton’s Second Law in terms of Momentum: The net force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of
momentum
Impulse: The product of the net force and the contact time
Law of conservation of linear momentum: The total linear momentum of an isolated system remains constant (is
conserved)
Elastic collision: A collision in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved
Inelastic collision: A collision in which only momentum is conserved
Work done on an object: The product of the displacement and the component of the force parallel to the
displacement
Gravitational potential energy: The energy an object possesses due to its position relative to a reference point
Kinetic energy: The energy an object has as a result of the object’s motion
Mechanical energy: The sum of gravitational potential and kinetic energy at a point
Law of conservation of energy: The total energy in a system cannot be created nor destroyed; only transferred
from one form to another
Principle of conservation of mechanical energy: In the absence of air resistance or any external forces, the
mechanical energy of an object is constant
Work-energy theorem: Work done by a net force on an object is equal to the change in the kinetic energy of the
object
Power: The rate at which work is done OR rate at which energy is transferred
Watt: The power when one joule of work is done in one second
Efficiency: The ratio of output power to input power
Coulomb's law: Two point charges in free space or air exert a force on each other. The force is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the the distance between
the charges.
Electric field at a point: The force per unit positive charge
Potential difference: The work done per unit positive charge
Current: The rate of flow of charge
Ohm's law: Current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across the conductor at
constant temperature
Resistance: A material’s opposition to the flow of electric current
Emf: The total energy supplied per coulomb of charge by the cell
Magnetic flux density: Is a representation of the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field.
Magnetic flux linkage: Product of the number of turns on the coil and the flux through the coil.
Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction: The emf induced is directly proportional to the rate of change of
magnetic flux (flux linkage)
Lenz's law: The induced current flows in a direction so as to set up a magnetic field to oppose the change in
magnetic flux
Diode: A component that only allows current to flow in one direction
Threshold (cut-ff) frequency (fo): the minimum frequency of incident radiation at which electrons will be emitted
from a particular metal
Work function (Wo): the minimum amount of energy needed to emit an electron from the surface of a metal
Scalar: A physical quantity that has magnitude only
Resultant vector: A single vector which has the same effect as the original vectors acting together
Distance: Length of path travelled
Displacement: A change in position
Speed: Rate of change of distance
Velocity: Rate of change of position (or displacement)
Acceleration: Rate of change of velocity
Weight (Fg): The gravitational force the Earth exerts on any object on or near its surface
Normal force (FN): The perpendicular force exerted by a surface on an object in contact with it
Frictional force due to a surface (Ff): The force that opposes the motion of an object and acts parallel to the
surface with which the object is in contact
Newton's First Law of Motion: An object continues in a state of rest or uniform (moving with constant) velocity
unless acted upon by a net or resultant force
Inertia: The property of an object that causes it to resist a change in its state of rest or uniform motion
Newton's Second Law of Motion: When a net force, Fnet, is applied to an object of mass, m, it accelerates in the
direction of the net force. The acceleration, a, is directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to
the mass
Newton's Third Law of Motion: When object A exerts a force on object B, object B simultaneously exerts an
oppositely directed force of equal magnitude on object A
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: Every particle with mass in the universe attracts every other particle with
a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between their centres
Gravitational field: The force acting per unit mass
Momentum: The product of the mass and velocity of the object
Newton’s Second Law in terms of Momentum: The net force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of
momentum
Impulse: The product of the net force and the contact time
Law of conservation of linear momentum: The total linear momentum of an isolated system remains constant (is
conserved)
Elastic collision: A collision in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved
Inelastic collision: A collision in which only momentum is conserved
Work done on an object: The product of the displacement and the component of the force parallel to the
displacement
Gravitational potential energy: The energy an object possesses due to its position relative to a reference point
Kinetic energy: The energy an object has as a result of the object’s motion
Mechanical energy: The sum of gravitational potential and kinetic energy at a point
Law of conservation of energy: The total energy in a system cannot be created nor destroyed; only transferred
from one form to another
Principle of conservation of mechanical energy: In the absence of air resistance or any external forces, the
mechanical energy of an object is constant
Work-energy theorem: Work done by a net force on an object is equal to the change in the kinetic energy of the
object
Power: The rate at which work is done OR rate at which energy is transferred
Watt: The power when one joule of work is done in one second
Efficiency: The ratio of output power to input power
Coulomb's law: Two point charges in free space or air exert a force on each other. The force is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the the distance between
the charges.
Electric field at a point: The force per unit positive charge
Potential difference: The work done per unit positive charge
Current: The rate of flow of charge
Ohm's law: Current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across the conductor at
constant temperature
Resistance: A material’s opposition to the flow of electric current
Emf: The total energy supplied per coulomb of charge by the cell
Magnetic flux density: Is a representation of the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field.
Magnetic flux linkage: Product of the number of turns on the coil and the flux through the coil.
Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction: The emf induced is directly proportional to the rate of change of
magnetic flux (flux linkage)
Lenz's law: The induced current flows in a direction so as to set up a magnetic field to oppose the change in
magnetic flux
Diode: A component that only allows current to flow in one direction
Threshold (cut-ff) frequency (fo): the minimum frequency of incident radiation at which electrons will be emitted
from a particular metal
Work function (Wo): the minimum amount of energy needed to emit an electron from the surface of a metal
